


Undead

by KatrinaRice



Series: BottomErwinWeek 2020 [2]
Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Alternate Universe - Zombie Apocalypse, M/M, Zombies, bottomErwin, bottomerwinweek, bottomerwinweek2020, zombieErwin
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-15
Updated: 2020-06-17
Packaged: 2021-03-04 00:06:52
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 14,722
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24734377
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KatrinaRice/pseuds/KatrinaRice
Summary: After the world ends, gossip doesn’t die down – and everyone talks about the gloomy short man who’s fucking his pet zombie.
Relationships: Levi/Erwin Smith
Series: BottomErwinWeek 2020 [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1786141
Comments: 59
Kudos: 235





	1. Chapter 1

“It’s just a rumour! Like… an urban legend!” Jean argues as the group of former military cadets sits around the fire in their new camp based on an old prison complex.

“Only there _isn’t_ anything _urban_ around anymore, is there?” Ymir interjects with a scoff.

“That’s not the point,” Jean shoots back, rolling his eyes to then refocus his gaze on Eren. “It’s not true. It’s just bullshit,” he picks up their conversation about the man that other survivors spoke about. Again. They passed that group just a few hours ago, all claiming that they had seen that phantom of the new era nearby. “Levi Ackerman is a fucking myth.”

“Oh really?” Eren reiterates in an irritated tone. “Then why the hell do we keep meeting people who claim to have seen him and that abnormal zombie of his?”

“Because people are still people, and they’re gonna talk bullshit! There are no abnormal zombies! It’s…”

“It’s hope,” Mikasa throws in calmly, making both of the young men look at her, who are at each other’s throats constantly, even if the world is in shambles. “People need hope,” the dark-haired woman continues to speak, gazing into the fire they all sit around. “That’s why they create the tale of a man who can fight a small horde of those undead things on his own and—“

“Not on his own,” Eren interrupts, and Mikasa sighs.

“Yes,” she agrees, “not on his own. With that help of his zombie – another symbol of hope.”

“So you also don’t believe it then?” The shocked, nearly appalled words tumble out of Eren’s mouth before Mikasa can actually finish. But the woman’s used to the young man’s energetic outbursts, doesn’t even frown in response.

“I am not saying that I believe in it, but I am also not saying that I don’t,” she clarifies. “I am saying that if it _is_ made up, then I understand _why_.”

Eren frowns, and Armin elaborates as Mikasa takes a sip of the water they collected from a lake a few hours before. “That abnormal zombie gives people hope of a cure. Because if it’s true, and it acts the way people say it does—”

“Like some sort of dog!” Eren chirps in, a little bit too excited.

“…yeah,” Armin continues, clearing his throat. “Well, if it’s true, then it’s because the virus did not affect that person the way it affected others – which means, that the scientists in Sanctuary could have a chance of developing a cure, or at least medication that alters the changing process, based on that zombie’s genes.”

“That’s why Levi Ackerman is headed that way, they say,” Eren agrees eagerly.

“I’m still saying it’s a myth,” Jean says, shaking his head, sighing dismissively.

“But you believe in Sanctuary! And all we heard about the place was also delivered to us by rumours, prick!”

“I think a well-gated and well-guarded place where people like you and me live because they are able to fight off the zombies is more believable than a man with superman-strength and a pet zombie!” Jean hisses at Eren in response.

“And they are at it again…” Ymir mumbles, rolling her eyes, as the two young men begin to argue and call each other names, while Armin is trying to calm both of them down.

Amidst that exchange, that small ruckus, the group of friends doesn’t hear the approaching footsteps. Until the undead creature is only a few feet away. It’s Mikasa that spots it, as he hears that low, all too familiar, quiet growl and looks up.

“Zombie!” she screams, and just two seconds later the whole group is on their feet.

“How the fuck did he get in here?!” Ymir shouts, grabbing her rifle, eyes locked on the creature that was once a male human, and that is now standing frozen at the spot, looking at them with its head tilted a little to the side, the once blond hair now looking ashen, and it’s… strange. Because normally it should be charging right at them, hungry, rotten mouth open. But it isn’t. “We secured the gates, all the barricades were safe! Didn’t you check, Eren?!”

“I fucking did!” Eren responds, loading his gun, “I’ll take care of it!” he announces, as he is the closest to that thing, the others nodding – but as Eren lifts his gun up and begins to aim at the zombie, it freaking moves away swiftly, jumping behind a crumbled wall, hiding. “What the fuck…?!” Eren gasps – because zombies do not hide. Because they are braindead. They charge, they bite and they eat – and sometimes they will walk right into the barrel of your gun. Because they don’t know it’s a gun, and—

“Eren!” Mikasa’s urgent voice brings him back into the here and now.

“I got it!”

But Eren doesn’t. Because just as the young man starts to move towards the wall, a shadow comes flying through the air out of fucking nowhere, and a fist hits his face so hard suddenly, Eren thinks he might be losing a tooth or two.

His vision goes black for a second, and even though his reaction time is still splendid, and he’s strong, knows how to fight and has combat experience, the one who’s attacking him has him unarmed in just a few seconds, his gun being thrown away to the side, the concealed second weapon and knife following. And just as Eren wants to plunge his fist into his attacker’s body, the much shorter stranger holds a huge blade to his throat, the blue-grey eyes boring into Eren’s green counterparts cold and intimidating.

“Don’t move,” the black-haired man in the middle or end of his thirties warns him in a low and menacing tone.

“Eren!” Mikasa gasps – and then it’s suddenly dead silent as Eren realises he’s standing with his back to the group; so even if they wanted to take out the stranger, he is not in their line of fire. Eren swallows thickly, fear gripping his throat as he stares down at the short man with those fiery eyes, the man’s sharp, broad blade feeling cold against Eren’s skin.

“You move, and you’re dead. Got it?” the man repeats his threat somberly, and Eren swallows again.

“Yeah,” he whispers, and the stranger nods briefly, the menacing look on his face not disappearing. 

His black hair is long, tied into what people used to call a man bun. His skin is pale, some parts of it burnt by the sun. There’s a scar reaching from his thin eyebrow, going over his right eye, ending at his chin. And only now Eren realises that this eye is paler than the other – and that the man’s probably blind on that side. It doesn’t make him less intimidating. Even though this man is _really_ short.

“This is how it’s gonna go down,” the black-haired stranger wearing something that resembles an old military uniform announces with a louder voice, clearly addressing everybody, not just Eren. “If you don’t want your friend here to die, you’re gonna put down your weapons and slide them over in my direction. Then, you’re gonna go back five steps and you will not move a fucking inch until I tell you to. And if you’re going to try and shoot at my zombie again, I swear I will rip out all of your throats, gut you, and feed your intestines to the next horde. Am I clear?”

Nobody says anything – but also nobody moves. And Eren’s brain is working on overload. Because did the stranger just say “my zombie”?

The man increases the pressure of the blade and it cuts through the first thin layer of Eren’s skin causing him to bleed. “Am I clear?!” he repeats, voice booming and full of aggression, full of wrath. The man’s fucking serious and… dangerous.

“Y-Yes!” Eren shouts motioning with his hands behind his back to his friends, “d-do what he says! Just do it!”

He hears things being dropped to the floor, and the stranger’s eyes only leave his for fractional seconds to check whether the group is doing what he demands. “Now you,” the man says, giving Eren a heavy shove, making him stumble a few steps back until he regains his balance – only to look into the barrel of a handgun the man is pointing at him. “Walk back. Hands in the air so I can see them. Don’t do anything stupid or I will blow your brains out, got it?”

Eren does as he is told and slowly moves backwards, as the stranger continues to address the whole group.

“I don’t want your guns, I don’t want any of your food and water and I don’t want to take your shelter,” he says, the gun still pointed at Eren, “I will get my zombie and then I’ll be out of here and we will never see each other again, okay? Nobody needs to get hurt tonight.”

Eren joins his group and exchanges glances with Mikasa and Armin. His friends are nervous and just as confused as he is. Ymir looks as if she wants to kill that guy. And fuck, maybe that’s exactly what she plans on doing any second, charge forward, grab a gun and try to shoot the guy – but thankfully, her girlfriend holds her back; Eren also shakes his head subtly as Ymir looks at him, telling her “no”.

“Erwin,” the raven-haired man suddenly calls out to the zombie in an authoritative way, and the group of survivors stare in disbelief as the thing, that was once a probably handsome, very tall man, hurries over to stranger, giving off low growling sounds, coming to a stop right next to the short man who orders the undead creature to “sit” – and it sits. Right there, right then, the zombie sits down, looking up at the man like a… Like an obedient dog.

The stranger’s eyes are still focussed on the group, as he loosens a rope that had been wound around his waist with his free hand, a leash as it becomes evident, which he attaches to the collar around the zombie’s neck. Then, he pats its head. “It’s all good,” he murmurs – and that thing lets out another growl. Or maybe something like a purr?

And then, Eren has an epiphany.

“Levi Ackerman!” he gasps – the other survivors too stunned to say anything. “You are… Jesus fucking Christ, you are… You’re Levi Ackerman!” Eren’s smiling a frantic and way too bright smile, breaking out into laughter. “See!” he exclaims to his friends, pointing at the stranger and his pet zombie, “I _told_ you he was fucking real! You’re Levi Ackerman, aren’t you?” he turns his attention back to the man, who is frowning at him, his eyes gloomy, still pointing a gun at the green-eyed young man so full of enthusiasm.

“So you’ve heard of me,” the raven-haired man states flatly – and Eren almost screeches in excitement.

“Unholy shit!” the young man roars while Jean just stares at the raven-haired man in utter disbelief and shock. “Levi fucking Ackerman, I cannot believe this.”

Slowly, the stranger lowers his gun. It doesn’t make him look any friendlier. “I’ll be on my way. You should fix the breach in the southern barrier – this is how Erwin got in,” he states calmly, nodding slightly at his zombie, with no evident emotion in his voice. The creature moves to stand on his feet immediately, as Levi prompts it to by pulling slightly at the leash. “Come on, let’s go,” he mumbles to the zombie, pulling at the leash some more, making the tall undead being walk with him obediently, swaying from side just a little bit as it moves its big legs.

“Wait!” Eren shouts and takes a step forward. It’s Mikasa who holds him back, gripping his arm tightly, staring at him with wide eyes as he turns to look at her. “Let me go! This is Levi Ackerman, you—“

“He’s dangerous!” Ymir hisses, eyes locked on the stranger and his zombie, who are slowly retreating into the blackness of the night.

“We need him!” Eren protests quietly. “Guys! This guy and his awesome zombie, they – Did you fucking even see that? It _listened_ to him! Like a fucking _dog_ , I _told_ you! – They, they… They are like a fucking private security team! They can take out a small horde by themselves…! And we are headed the same way – Levi is also looking for Sanctuary. We should team up! Do you know how much this would actually increase our chances of survival? _And_ finding Sanctuary?!”

“You’re just a fucking fanboy, it’s almost pathetic!” Jean whisper-hisses nervously, making Eren glare at him, almost bare his teeth like an animal.

“We said we will not team up with anybody,” Ymir reminds him. “Only us, only people we trust!”

“Exactly!” Jean confirms.

“But Eren’s right,” Historia suddenly announces, irritating her girlfriend.

“What?!” Ymir hisses, and the blond young woman nods, eyes following Levi and his zombie.

“Yes,” Armin agrees, his eyes also focussed on the raven-haired man.

Ymir scoffs. “Are you crazy? This motherfucker wanted to _gut_ us all. Because of a freaking _zombie_! He’s clearly insane!”

“But that zombie could save humanity,” Armin replies, making Ymir roll her eyes.

“You didn’t even believe in its existence, Armin!”

“But now that I have seen it, I do,” the blond young man answers calmly, looking Ymir in the eyes. The woman with shaggy dark hair sighs exasperatedly.

“So it’s three against two,” she states, eyes wandering over to Mikasa. “You’re the only one left,” she says. “What’s it gonna be? Ask Levi to team up with us, or—“

“I’m with Eren,” is all that the black-haired woman says, finally letting go of the young man’s arm, who immediately storms off, making Ymir scoff again.

“Levi! Wait!” he shouts – and looks into the barrel of Levi’s gun once again as he twists around the corner to catch up with him, the man’s zombie stomping towards him immediately, big bushy eyebrows furrowed, mouth twisted into a grimace, the only thing holding it back from reaching the young man being Levi, who tugs at the leash and makes the thing stop.

“What do you want?” he asks in an arctic tone, and a shiver runs down Eren’s spine, because this guy, and his zombie, are terrifying. But that’s exactly what the green-eyed man finds so fascinating about them.

“Please stay,” he says.

Levi scoffs, lowers his gun. Then, he turns around again, wanting to walk off, but Eren quickly moves around him and puts himself in Levi’s way. What he doesn’t expect is the once blond zombie charging at him with full speed suddenly, grabbing his shoulders, pushing him back, making Eren almost fall to the ground and shiver uncontrollably, before he can repeat his plea to Levi, terror and fear gripping his whole body as the zombie opens his big mouth and roars at him, the loud sound, hellish and feral, sending a harsh shiver down his spine, the face of the undead thing so close, its teeth all intact, and big and—

“Erwin…” Levi mumbles calmly, tugging at the leash, “Stop.”

That’s the moment the rest of the group comes running around the corner.

“Don’t!” Eren shouts at them, extending a hand to signal his command to his friend. “Stay where you are, it’s fine!” he manages to add – even though he is shaking with fear, because the creature, Erwin, is still glaring him; protecting its master, baring his teeth at Eren like a furious wolf.

“Erwin,” Levi repeats its name. Louder this time. With more emphasis. The zombie gives out a grunt as its owner gives the leash a hard tug, and it lets go of Eren’s shoulders, lets Levi pull it back to be standing next to the very short man. “There you go…” the man says to the thing, before looking back at Eren. “You got a death wish, kid?” he asks him with a grim expression on his face. It makes Eren swallow.

“N-no, sir,” the man at the beginning of his twenties murmurs – and this way of being addressed makes the raven-haired man smirk lightly. It’s not an expression of amusement, though. It’s cold. Nearly condescending.

The zombie begins to growl again, lowly. “Quiet,” Levi orders, giving it a hard glance, that seems to working, because the zombie’s sound fades out, and it just stares down at Eren with its pale, dead eyes. Until it doesn’t anymore, because its eyes focus on something else in the distance, and it grows completely still, looking dead – because it _is_ dead. Or should be, at least.

“What do you want?” Levi confronts Eren.

“M-my name is Eren,” the young man babbles out, and Levi raises an eyebrow.

“And what do you want me to do with this information, Eren?”

The green-eyed man clears his throat. “Those are my friends,” he continues undeterred, “Mikasa, Armin, Ymir, Historia and Jean.”

“I really don’t care,” Levi answers in a flat tone, but Eren ignores it. Just goes on.

“We’ve been together since before the war, been travelling for three years now. We’ve lost some of our friends, some of our comrades on the way, and I don’t want to lose any more,” he says, staring Levi deep into the eyes. The raven-haired man seems unfazed.

“And?”

“We have the same goal: We wanna live and reach Sanctuary – to live some more, get out of this nightmare. Just like you and your… _friend_.”

The zombie still hasn’t moved, stares blankly at something in the distance. Maybe at nothing in particular. It makes Eren feel a little bit uneasy. Because now the abnormal undead creature seems just like any other zombie; ready to awaken from its rigour upon inhaling the scent of human blood.

“And?” Levi asks again, sounding almost bored, a little appalled too.

“I suggest we team up,” he finally cuts to the chase. “Our group is strong, we were all training to become soldiers, even have combat experience because the outbreak of the war took everyone by surprise and we needed to fight immediately. But we need a leader. You can make us stronger, increase our chances of survival.”

Levi clicks his tongue, annoyed. “I’m not a fucking kindergartener.”

“And we are no children!” Eren retorts immediately, with a strong voice – and that’s what makes the zombie move again. At least its eyes, turning to focus on his again, a low, almost inaudible growl escaping its mouth already hanging open. Eren swallows as Levi scoffs, crossing his arms in front of his chest, one eyebrow raised in scepticism.

“And what would I get out of this? Being your fucking security blanket slash bodyguard in the zombie apocalypse, huh?”

“I told you: We’re strong. With the right leader we can become even stronger. So just like you can protect us, we can protect you and… Erwin.”

The zombie tilts its head as the young man mentions its name, and Eren is once more absolutely stunned – because it’s obvious that the creature truly knows its name, reacts to being called by it; like a trained dog or cat. It’s amazing. Terrifying, mind-blowing, but also absolutely amazing.

The older man scoffs. But this just spurs Eren on.

“We have a lot of well-maintained weapons and ammunition,” he continues to rattle down his reasons for Levi to stay with them, “we share everything with one another. Bullets, guns, food, every good we find – and we’ve hit the jackpot not so long ago when we found an untouched pre-war bunker built by survivalists who obviously did not reach it in time. We’ll share everything with you.”

“Eren!” Jean hisses, the young man’s pulse quickened, a vein prominent on his forehead, prompted by his imminent anger, fear being added into this equation as Levi Ackerman’s pet zombie turns around with a low growl to look at him. “Are you fucking mad, you idiot?! Shut your trap! Do you want to fucking convince this madman with his weird-ass zombie to fucking rob and murder us?!” The zombie’s stare is intimidating, just as the stranger’s gaze is. “Stop talking about our supplies!”

“Jean,” Mikasa chastises him in her typical low, almost commanding voice, and the man with ash-brown hair scoffs, trying to mask his fear.

Levi smirks. “You should listen to your friend more often,” he says to Eren, “horse face seems clever.”

“What did he just call me?!” Jean roars, and this time it’s Ymir who shuts him up, by giving him a hard smack onto the shoulder.

“Ow, what the—“

“Please,” Eren goes on, looking Levi in the eyes, trembling slightly as the zombie turns his head around slowly to look back at him. “We would make a good team, and we’ll do everything you say.”

“I don’t do teams,” Levi explains coldly. But Eren’s not one to give up.

“We were the best of our class, we were fucking 17 when the war broke out, 18 when the bombs were dropped and the virus broke out after, and we’re still here. We’re good people, honest. Armin’s got the brains, he comes up with brilliant strategies to bypass hordes and ration our portions to last over a long period of time. Historia is talented on so many levels – and she can cook, has come up with improvised meals that have been keeping our strength up. Ymir is devoted and strong, she has great eye-sight, can spot zombies practically a mile away, Mikasa is a team-player, and the strongest of us all – and I will fight those creatures for as long as I can stand, and I’ll do anything to keep my friends alive, get them to Sanctuary, help humanity to find a fucking cure. And I believe that your zombie is a key element to that,” Eren explains with a confident voice, not breaking the eye-contact. “So please, let me help you get Erwin to Sanctuary safely. So that humanity has a chance.” Eren’s heart is beating fast after his emotional speech – and he ignores the fact that Jean is whispering to the others, fuming that Eren hasn’t mentioned him.

But Levi isn’t touched by those words. Not at all. He scoffs.

“Who says I give a shit about humanity, kid?” he counters, huffing out a cold laugh. “And besides, it sounds like you don’t need a leader at all.”

“We do,” Historia suddenly answers before Eren can even open his mouth, and he and Levi, as well as Erwin, turn their heads to look at her.

She’s approaching them slowly, holding something in her hands. And Erwin reacts to whatever it is. The zombie releases another low growl and actually moves its whole body to turn around to face her, starts walking towards the blond girl.

“Historia!” Ymir gasps, and Mikasa grabs her arm to stop her from rushing towards her girlfriend, just as Levi stops Erwin from walking any further by holding on to the leash, making it impossible for the zombie to move any further.

“Girl,” he warns the blond young woman who doesn’t stop, but comes closer to the zombie.

“I-it’s fine,” she says, smiling at the stranger, after which she focuses her slightly terrified gaze on the zombie again. “He… Erwin, he… he seems hungry.”

Another scoff leaves Levi’s mouth. “He’s a freaking zombie. He’s always hungry…” the man comments dryly – but he doesn’t pull Erwin back or stop the girl. Instead, he watches her cautiously move closer to his pet, and Eren realises that Historia is holding a piece of grilled meat in her hand; the last piece of the hares they caught earlier today.

The zombie releases another low growl, but it doesn’t sound as menacing as before, or maybe that’s just Eren’s imagination.

Historia feels terrified. But she doesn’t defer from her plan, moves closer to the zombie and slowly holds the piece of meat up to its mouth. “Ah!” she suddenly gasps, and Ymir almost loses it; if it weren’t for Mikasa’s strong fingers wrapped around her arm, she would be storming towards her girlfriend to yank her back as the zombie growls again and snatches, basically _rips_ the food with its big teeth out of her hand. “That was… scary,” the blond woman mutters, watching the zombie chew on the meat, its big lips that were once human moving languidly as he does so, the dead eyes focused on the girl.

Levi sighs. “You need to be more careful, if you don’t want to lose your fingers,” he chastises her calmly, and Eren’s heart rate picks up again; because he’s sure the man just sounded a tiny bit warmer than before. And he wants to fucking kiss Historia for that. Bless her clever heart!

“Historia was always good with, uh, taking care of people, and, uh… pets…” he begins to talk again, “she’d be really good to… Erwin.”

Levi rolls his eyes. Then, as Erwin extends his arms and reaches slowly for Historia, leaving the young woman terrified and frozen in place, Levi pulls the zombie back by tugging at the leash.

“Don’t worry,” he tells the girl as the creature gives out a low whimper, “he just wants more of what you gave him.”

“I, I can get him more,” Historia says, “I mean, that was the last piece of hare, but we have other food. Canned meat, too.”

“For you as well, um, if you’re hungry?” Eren chirps in – and Levi rolls his eyes, before giving Eren another stern look.

“I don’t do teams,” he repeats his answer before he nods at Eren and Historia, turns around and leaves, dragging Erwin behind, the zombie looking back at the young man and woman, growling and releasing another whimper, sounding like a sad dog.

Eren sighs, once Levi is out of sight, swallowed up by darkness.

“You tried,” Historia tells him, putting her hand onto his shoulder, squeezing it encouragingly.

“Yeah, well fuck that…” Eren mumbles, sighing, giving the blond woman a smile nonetheless.

“Fucking idiot,” Jean mutters as they all retake their place around the fire after fixing the breach in the barricade.

“That zombie was… stunning,” Armin says after a while that feels like forever, and the rest of the group nods. Even Jean.

“He must have trained it for a long time,” Ymir mutters.

“Yes, but I don’t think you can do it with just any zombie,” Eren states, and the rest of the group agrees with him.

“It really is an abnormal creature,” Armin sums it up, before they all stare into the fire without speaking a word.

Then, about half an hour later, just as they are about to set up the first watch for the night, they hear the all too familiar growling of a zombie again – and when they are all on their feet, they see them: Levi and his pet zombie Erwin, coming back.

They are carrying gear. Both of them. Erwin is carrying a huge trekking backpack, Levi has a smaller version strapped to his own back. Two shotguns are attached to Erwin’s backpack, two handguns as well a machete to Levi’s waist. He rolls his eyes as he looks into the beaming face of Eren, as he sets down his backpack and makes Erwin sit down again to also unstrap his zombie’s gear.

He keeps him on a leash as he takes a seat at the fire, Eren and the others making room. The zombie moves lethargically to sit behind his master, staring at Historia’s hands, releasing a low moan.

Levi scoffs. “You made him hungry,” he accuses the girl, who flinches when being addressed by the older man.

“I thought zombies were always hungry…?” Ymir reiterates Levi’s own words, making the man smirk, look into the fire.

“Well, I’m hungry too, and I remember Eren saying something about sharing food… so?”

“Only when you team up with us!” the green-eyed young man emphasises with a broad, excited smile on his face.

Levi scoffs. “Fine,” he then agrees, “but if any of you hurt my zombie – I swear, I will gut you.”

“We won’t!” Eren promises, and the rest of the group nods.

Jean rolls his eyes, making Levi smirk again.


	2. Chapter 2

“I’m not scared!” Jean hisses at Eren as they fill their bottles with fresh water from a creek. “It just creeps the shit out of me!”

“That’s just another word for being scared, dumbass!” Eren retorts laughing.

Jean scoffs. “So you’re telling me that _you_ are perfectly _fine_ with the way that zombie just stares at you with its dead eyes? For fucking hours? With its hungry mouth hanging open? Looking at you like it wants to fucking eat you?”

Eren’s brows furrows as he screws one of the bottles shut. “Well, I think I got used to it.”

There are many other things the group of friends has gotten used to. Or is forced to accept as normal since Levi Ackerman has become part of their team; Levi Ackerman _and_ his abnormal pet zombie Erwin.

Not a day goes by in which Eren, Jean, Armin and the others watch the short, gloomy, reserved man interact with the undead creature that couldn’t be any different than the other zombies swamping their planet, while it’s just that – a zombie. An inhuman creature that should not exist.

Levi keeps Erwin on a leash most of the times. He says it’s easier to control him in this way, stop him from wandering off – though the thing really doesn’t seem to even want that, and it listens to its owner. Whenever Levi calls its name, the zombie reacts, looking at his master, walking over to him like an obedient pet when he beckons it. Because that’s what it is. At least, Levi does not correct the others when they call Erwin his pet zombie. But neither does the man elaborate on how he met him, or how and when he made him his pet, if he knew the man before he was turned, infected. Because Levi doesn’t talk much.

At least not with humans.

“Guys, I… I just saw Levi sitting behind that burned out truck with Erwin, _talking_ to that thing,” Ymir starts speaking to her friends as she re-joins the group after checking their barricades before evening comes around, “like… really _talking_ to Erwin, actually speaking more than just short, blunt half-sentences, like, telling him about his day and shit. As if he was having a real conversation with it. And I swear I even saw the guy _smiling_ while he was talking to the zombie. Like: Levi Ackerman actually _smiled_ , what the fuck? I didn’t know he could actually do that?! Did you?”

Historia giggles. “I saw it too,” she then explains. “Levi. Talking to Erwin and smiling at him.”

“Fucking weirdo,” is all that Jeans mutters, while Eren’s eyes widen with excitement.

A few days later, Armin learns another fact about Levi’s interactions with his pet zombie. While he and the dark-haired man are on watch, guarding the freshly set up camp of the group, looking out for any zombies or other possible intruders while sitting on a huge fallen tree, the zombie on the ground between its master’s widely spread legs, Levi suddenly retrieves a comb out of his pocket – and starts brushing Erwin’s hair with it.

“It was a bit awkward, because Levi was so… gentle with the zombie,” he tells Mikasa, Eren and the others the next day. “And at the same time, it was so wholesome.”

“Dude, you’re aware you’re still talking about a human tending to a freaking zombie?” Jean comments, a little bit of venom in his voice.

“Dude,” Eren mimics his comrade’s way of speech, “you’re aware that you’re not talking about an ordinary person and an ordinary zombie, right?” Mikasa nods.

“I agree,” Ymir joins in, “there really is nothing ordinary about these two. And the way Levi tends to his pet.”

Just a few hours later the raven-haired man proves those words to be true again, as they halt at a lake in the middle of a huge meadow, making overlooking the area an easy task – and when they confirm that there is no imminent danger ahead, and begin to wash their gear and themselves in the water, Levi suddenly begins to take all of his zombie’s clothes off, stripping the inhuman man naked. And while he then begins to take his own garments off, the group cannot help but stare at the zombie’s huge, flaccid cock hanging between its pale, almost ashen legs.

“Holy fucking shit,” Jean murmurs, and then repeats those words, as a very naked Levi, with an equally huge cock between his legs, leads the zombie into the water and begins to wash it, the creature giving off growls and groans that could pass as satisfied sounds as its owner moves his hands all over the zombie’s body carefully, as if washing a child.

“He’s isn’t afraid of it at all,” Mikasa later sums up as she is gathering firewood with Ymir, who nods.

“Uh-huh,” she agrees, “but he should be.”

Because Erwin is strong.

The first time they see him fight other zombies, Historia almost faints because of all the blood.

The pet zombie can sense its kind pretty early. The group has learned to read the signals after Levi teaches them. Erwin grows stiff and will stare into the direction of the other zombies when they are still far away – this gives the group time to change their path as to not cross ways. When Erwin starts releasing elongated growls, the other zombies are closer. It still gives the group enough to prepare for a confrontation. They don’t get jumped anymore. It’s an improvement.

The other zombies also don’t attack Erwin. Levi says that it might be because to them he doesn’t smell any different, is perceived as just another one of their kind; undead and hungry. This puts the blond pet zombie in a clear advantage. He can get close, walk right within the group of approaching creatures – and then rip them apart with no resistance. Because this is exactly what Erwin does: ripping other zombies apart with his bare hands, splitting their mouths open, tearing their throats open, ripping their limbs out, clawing their chests open. As if they were sheets of paper to be disposed of.

After a while Historia gets used to that sight. She even develops a habit of feeding Erwin, once she loses the fear of being eaten by the zombie out of mistake – or his zombie instinct overriding the abnormal’s other pet-like traits.

“He likes you,” Levi states, and Historia is terrified and happy at the same time. And one day, as they are all relaxing and gathering strength for the next days to come, the zombie staggers towards her and brings itself down next to the girl, who has been reading a book they found at an old library. The thing is so close to her, its body nearly touching hers as it’s leaning towards her while releasing a low moan, that makes the hairs on the back of her neck stand up – and when the thing begins to move again, she freezes all over and wants to fucking scream as Erwin lies down and places his big, cold, undead head onto her thigh, her eyes searching for Levi in a frantic fashion.

He turns up behind her just a second later, always close to his pet.

“He wants you to read him something.”

“Wh-what…?!”

Levi also gets down onto the grass, takes his place cross-legged behind Erwin. Putting his hand onto his pet’s shoulder, caressing it slightly, he encourages Historia. “Go on, just read the next paragraphs out aloud,” he says, almost gently – which nearly paralyzes the young woman. Because even if she doesn’t think of Levi being a “condescending, midget-prick”, as Jean calls him, she wasn’t sure about the man being able to sound and act any way _close_ to soft. “I also wouldn’t mind listening for a while,” Levi adds, and when Historia turns her head to look at him, the dark-haired, crude man offers her a warm smile – and the woman blushes. Because it’s a really beautiful smile. One that prompts her to do what is being asked so kindly of her – one that makes her forget about her fear of zombies, and the undead creature leaning its head against her leg.

She feels stupid at first, reading to the thing, reading to Erwin; but it helps that Levi is by her side. And then, she finds it soothing to be reading out aloud – and if she is not mistaken, her voice also has an effect on Erwin. It might be just her imagination, but she swears she feels the zombie relax, calm down, the dead eyes of the thing falling shut as it releases a very faint, but very contented sound, something like a purr.

Later that day, Levi shares something with her for the first time. “Erwin has always loved books.”

“So he knew him _before_ Erwin became a zombie!” Eren gasps, his hushed voice full of awe and excitement as Historia shares her insights with her friends.

“What do you think their relationship was?” Mikasa muses as everyone lets that information sink in.

“Colleagues or comrades? Maybe they fought together in the war and before that?” Eren tries. “The zombie is definitely a war machine, and Levi definitely has military experience.” This is an observation that cannot be denied.

The raven-haired zombie owner becomes a great leader, learns each group member’s unique strengths quickly and utilises them. This is how they survive, how they, in fact, become stronger; just as Eren predicted. They do not, however, receive any insight into the man’s relationship with the zombie before he was rendered an undead being, or after.

They also grow used to this.

Erwin is not only their centre of attention, but also a great help. The zombie carries all their heavy stuff on his back, is even able to hold on to things Levi puts into his hands.

At one point, Armin sprains his ankle during combat. “Erwin’s gonna carry you,” Levi decides, and before the fair-haired can protest, the man beckons his pet zombie over, manoeuvring the big thing’s hands into position. The zombie quickly catches on, carries out the command and lifts Armin up as if in a bridal carry – and even if Armin should be used to the zombie being in his proximity by now, thanking the Gods that for whatever reason it doesn’t smell of decay or any other abhorrent stuff like other zombies do especially after they feasted on human flesh, this direct contact to the undead being still makes him shudder, and he is as stiff as a rock in Erwin’s cold arms, as the zombie follows Levi, who has his zombie on his usual leash.

“The thing is so cold,” Armin tells his friends as they set up camp for the night.

“It’s dead,” says Jean, “of course it’ll be cold.”

“Do you think the thing sleeps?” Ymir suddenly wonders aloud.

Nobody can answer the question, despite Levi being their team mate for over many months by then – because he never sleeps right next to them, always looks for a spot further away from the group, behind the remains of a building, behind a rock, behind a corner. A safety precaution as the man says, to keep the zombie away from the group at night when Levi’s asleep. Whatever that means. They accept it, have actually felt hellishly relieved on the first night together when Levi retreated to a remote spot on the compound, too afraid to close their eyes with a zombie amidst their ranks.

“You know they say that Levi, um, that he… That he fucks his zombie. Right?” Jean suddenly reminds them of a rumour they have once heard.

“Bullshit,” Eren immediately snaps at his friend, shaking his head in contempt.

“He brushes his hair, pats it on the back and washes it, lets Erwin lean against him and shit…” Jean remarks snidely.

“Things you would do with a dog, yes,” Eren retorts, “but would you fuck a dog? No. Or would you, Jean?!”

“Ew, no, fuck, Jesus. Don’t get mad at me, I didn’t spread the rumour!”

“No, but you just brought it up, because you believe it, don’t you?”

“No, I don’t!” Jean hisses. “I mean, I, I don’t fucking know!”

“Fucking idiot!”

“Enough, you two!” Mikasa breaks up the squabblers with a grim expression on her face, almost as intimidating as Levi’s glare.

“Do you think it’s true?” Eren asks Armin in a whisper a few hours later, as they make a walk around the perimeter to check for safety.

The fair-haired sighs. “Despite Levi’s behaviour towards Erwin being sort of intimate, which is probably because they knew each other before his transition, I don’t think so. No. I mean – that would be too gross. Even for Levi. Look at how clean the man is, how he meticulously washes all of his gear, clothes and his body; as well as his zombie’s body. I don’t think he would stick his… you know—“

“Dick,” Eren provides the word and Armin rolls his eyes.

“Yeah… I don’t think he would stick it into… a dead persons’—“

“Ass.”

Armin sighs again. “Yeah…”

Eren agrees with Armin’s opinion. He stays intrigued nonetheless. And so does Jean. And when the two of them are on watch, they decide to just take a peek, just to see whether Erwin’s sleeping or not, referring to Ymir’s question from a few days before – even though both men know the _true_ reason for them sneaking up to Levi’s current place of sleeping.

They discussed the matter of the men possibly having had a romantic relationship or a friends with benefits sort of thing when Erwin was still human, which would maybe explain the rumour of the man having sex with it – even it would still gross them out, if it proved to be true, because Erwin’s not human anymore, and you don’t fuck zombies; or at least you _shouldn’t_ fuck them.

They find Levi in a position they did not expect the man to be in – and even though Levi is (of course) _not_ having sex with his zombie, it still kind of takes Eren and Jean by surprise, despite all the things they have already seen the man doing to and with his pet zombie.

Now, the two of them are what one could describe as cuddled up – Levi’s sleeping, yet still holding on to the leash attached to Erwin’s collar tightly, and the zombie is holding his owner in his arms, is spooning the man, and Eren and Jean both watch the scene unfolding with wide eyes and partly opened mouths, watch Erwin as he keeps licking Levi’s exposed shoulder and throat. Like a cat.

“You… you think it’s going to bite him…?!” Jean whispers to Eren, and the young man shudders.

“I… I… I don’t know…!”

And because they don’t know, they don’t freaking move, keep staring at the undead creature licking the man’s ear now, making Levi suddenly stir and release an irritated, weak groan. “….Erwin…” he mutters lowly, giving the zombie a very faint shove with his elbow, which makes the thing stop, its nose now pressed into Levi’s open, long hair. Until it starts licking _that_. “…Erwin…” Levi mumbles again sleepily, repeating his elbow-shove – and then the undead thing suddenly turns its head around to look straight at Eren and Jean. And it growls loudly at them, making Levi startle – and the two young men run back to the campfire.

Levi gives them a death-glare the next morning. And Eren and Jean don’t share their observations with the rest of the group. They also stop talking about that sex rumour altogether.

Until they catch Levi in the act.

It happens in the woods.

Eren and Jean are collecting mushrooms and firewood when they suddenly hear the erratic low growls and grunts, thinking there must be at least two zombies nearby, probably feasting on a deer carcass. Normally, they would just let it be, but because this is close to their day camp, they decide to follow the noises with their knives drawn, to take the zombies out quickly and without causing any noise to attract more of the undead things.

They are in for the surprise of their lives.

Because even if they were right and the noises stem from two beings, only one of them is a zombie. A half-naked, groaning zombie on all fours, being taken from behind by a half-naked Levi, his small hands digging into the undead, pale flesh around his zombie’s hips as he thrust into the undead being’s asshole with no remorse, his own mouth opened, just like Erwin’s, emitting low grunts as he picks up his speed – and suddenly Levi’s gaze meets Eren’s, and the raven-haired man fucking his zombie scowls.

“Get the fuck out of here!” he seethes at Eren and Jean, not stopping to thrust into his zombie, and both young men _do_ get the fuck out of there. Immediately. Because Erwin, also turning his head to look at the intruders, roars at them so aggressively, they nearly shit their pants.

It takes an whole hour for them to calm down from the sight just witnessed.

“Are you okay?” Mikasa finally dares to ask, after Eren and Jean just stared at the ground sitting on the ground.

“I think I will never be okay again,” Jean mumbles, more to himself than to his friends who all gather around them now, having eyed them from a distance while cleaning their gear and going over their supplies for a while, giving them space to work through their obvious trauma.

“Me neither,” says Eren weakly.

“What the hell happened, guys?” Armin asks, and Ymir and Historia exchange a concerned look.

It’s Eren who finally breaks the silence descended upon the group again. “I just saw Levi—“

“Fucking his zombie,” the raven-haired man in question finishes the young man’s sentence, making all the group members flinch as he suddenly appears in front of them. And then they flinch again, as they hear rustling noises from behind and Erwin stomps through the bushes towards his master, giving off a low grumble. And nobody knows how to fucking act.

“Wh-what…?” Ymir manages to mutter, a nervous laugh escaping her mouth, until shock makes her close it again, as she realises that this is no joke – but reality.

“A man has needs,” is all Levi offers as an explanation, before telling the group to gather their stuff and carry on to reach a safer spot for their night camp.

“Don’t you, uh, aren’t you afraid of… like,” Armin stammers as he and Levi are building tonight’s fire to keep them warm, “like, aren’t you afraid of catching any bacteria that might kill you, when you, uh, do that to Erwin, like… He’s, uh, well he’s basically a corpse, and—“

“I use condoms,” Levi says flatly and Armin blinks, blushes some more, and swallows thickly.

“Oh. Y-you have condoms?”

“A lot. You want any?”

“Uh, n-no! Th-thanks, I’m, uh, fine…” the fair-haired mutters, his face completely turned red by now.

“Does… does he feel good… too? Um, Erwin?”

“Why don’t you ask him yourself?” Levi replies dryly, and Armin decides that it’s best to end the conversation.

The others agree and they don’t ask Levi anymore questions about him or Erwin, they just accept things the way they are – and they don’t follow Levi when he takes his zombie to a secluded spot in the woods or near their campsite. They also don’t sneak up on him at night anymore, Eren and Jean still too traumatized by what they have seen on that particular day in the forest.

They do, however, give all the intact condoms they find in abandoned drugstores and supermarkets to the man, and he thanks them flatly, not even blushing or showing shame or embarrassment in any form.

And as more weeks, months, as a whole a year passes of them travelling together, the man starts opening up more to the group. Actual long conversations become possible and Eren and his friends become attached to Levi. He’s clever, loyal, compassionate. And they learn more things about him.

He really loved his mother who raised him on his own, with her brother Kenny helping wherever he could. “They are probably dead,” Levi sighs – and the group of friends can relate. They all share their family stories with Levi, and the man listens, comforts them. It’s a good dynamic. Though Levi still leaves one topic untouched.

It changes on a night they enter a village, the very few houses nearly in one piece. One in particular. It’s almost nice. They patch it up with pieces from the other houses, make it impenetrable for any zombies, make it safe. And then, Eren finds a door that leads into a cellar – and it’s another jackpot.

“Guys!” the green-eyed exclaims, full of enthusiasm, his voice making it obvious he is smiling broadly. “You need to come down here now!”

It’s heaven. Because this is a wine cellar. Completely untouched. They carry the bottles to the big living room upstairs they have chosen as their main camp spot, with a wonderful view of the green hills in the distance. And it feels good to be finally sitting on some real furniture again, even if it is old and tattered slightly, full of dust. But who are they to complain? They even find some glasses.

Levi smiles as he looks down at the bottle in his hand, lounging on a two seat sofa which he made Erwin carry over from a different house. He releases a soft sigh.

“What is it, Levi?” Mikasa asks, pouring herself a glass of another wine.

“This wine,” the man answers, still smiling, albeit the smile being a bit sad, “it’s Erwin’s favourite,” he says, looking at the label of the bottle, and the zombie reacts when it hears his name being called. And all of the group’s eyes settle on the undead creature moving closer to its owner, lying down across the sofa a bit clumsily, placing its head in the man’s lap, who starts to card through his pet’s hair.

It’s Eren who dares to ask a question. Or rather, make a statement as to not be so inquisitive after he’s had a big glass of wine. “You knew him before he… Before Erwin was a, uh, zombie. Huh?”

“Yes,” Levi confirms quietly, smiling down lightly at the zombie, his fingers now brushing over Erwin’s pale cheek. “He’s my husband.”

Historia’s heart breaks, and Ymir grasps her hand, squeezing it tightly, encouragingly, as the woman also struggles to keep her emotions in check when Levi, finally, tells them their story.

They knew each other growing up, went to the same school, married when they were merely 20 years old, then joined the military together. Because they were inseparable. “Always,” Levi says, brushing his knuckles over Erwin’s dead face, the zombie giving out a low growl, almost inaudible. Their dream had been simple: Move to a beach house after the military, live a quiet life together, enjoy good drinks, a morning swim. “Have sex all night long,” Levi jokes, grinning lightly. “But then came the war.”

Their helicopter was shot down, crashed in the middle of nowhere. Erwin and Levi were the only survivors. Their friends and comrades on the other helicopters and jets God knows where. “They are probably dead, too,” Levi muses sadly, taking another sip of the wine, and Eren has to think of all the comrades and friends they have lost too.

“We had no idea where we were,” Levi continues his account, looking down at Erwin with a soft expression. “But we survived. For a while.” And then, it happened: They were overrun by a horde of zombies. “Erwin saved me, threw himself between me and that thing – and he got bitten,” Levi sums it up. “It’s my fault he was turned. And that’s exactly why I won’t leave his side ever. Besides,” he adds, smiling sadly, “we swore in front of an altar to always stay by each other’s side – in sickness and in health. So I’m only keeping the promise I made to my beloved.”

Also, Levi firmly believes that there is still a part of “his Erwin” inside of the zombie. “It’s as if the virus hasn’t obliterated his whole personality, his humanity. It’s there, somewhere inside of that monster,” he says, now stroking Erwin’s neck, and the group of friends agree.

“He’s definitely not like the other zombies,” Mikasa says, making the others nod.

“I also see a big human part in him,” Armin adds, looking at the pet zombie that really isn’t a pet zombie. “And I’m sorry that this happened to you.” The others nod again, and Levi merely smiles faintly, eyes resting on his husband.

“Let’s do our best to get Erwin safely to Sanctuary,” Eren joins in. “Maybe the scientists can help Erwin, too!”

Levi sighs. “Maybe.”

“And if not?” Mikasa hears herself asking before she can even think of her question.

The room grows silent, and Levi shrugs. “Then I will just continue as I did before,” he finally answers calmly, looking the young woman in the eyes. “It’s not like I have big hopes, but it’s worth a try. Also, because this one would want me to try,” he adds softly, ruffling Erwin’s hair lightly, making the zombie husband make a low, calm sound, “to save humanity.”

“Then let’s do this!” Eren exclaims, raising his glass. “Let’s save humanity together!”

They make a toast to that. Then, they go to sleep, happily tipsy, some of them drunk.

It’s in the middle of the night that Eren finds Mikasa not sleeping by his side. He searches for her, finds her on the balcony. Silent tears rolling down her cheeks.

“What’s wrong?” Eren whispers, and the tough woman wipes the tears away quickly.

“Levi’s and Erwin’s story,” she whispers back with a broken voice, “it’s so sad, and I… I can totally understand why he would never abandon him, not even when he is… like that.” She looks Eren deep into the eyes. “I would also never abandon you, no matter what happened to you.”

Eren grabs her arm, not breaking the eye-contact. “Mikasa,” he says her name, as if it was something precious, “if I turn into zombie, you need to kill me. Because I would never forgive myself for hurting you.”

Another tear rolls down the young woman’s cheek. “Not if you turn into a zombie like Erwin.”

“The probability of that happening is not very high,” he jokes lightly, and Mikasa nods, wiping away her tear.

“Then don’t get fucking bitten, do you understand?” she retorts, making Eren smile – and kiss the girl, who gives him so much strength and hope.

But as time passes, the hope of finding Sanctuary dwindles, and the group of friends along with their zombie begins to believe that maybe all they heard about that place was merely a rumour.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks everyone for commenting! I hope you enjoyed the update :) Chapter 3 is coming out tomorrow!


	3. Chapter 3

They are moving towards the coast in order to avoid the huge cities ahead, swarmed by undead hordes from their personal experience, when they watch Levi kill a human being for the first time. They don’t know the man’s name and quite frankly, the group of friends doesn’t care. Because they are sure this man would not have hesitated to kill one of them.

They find him on what used to be a camping site, drawn in by the muffled screams and whimpers of a woman. Levi leads the way as he, Eren and Jean sneak closer while the others watch the area and have their weapons drawn to shoot from the distance at any time, Ymir holding Erwin on a leash.

It takes Levi only three seconds to assess the situation – the man raping a young girl next to the corpse of her twin sister. He doesn’t jump at him to drag him away from her, doesn’t give him any time to explain, because what is there to explain? Levi simply reaches for his machete, signals to his comrades silently to stay back, and in the next second beheads the guy mercilessly.

Eren stares down at the man’s face as his severed rolls in his direction and comes to a stop at his feet, the man’s shaggy blond hair dishevelled, the matching moustache, that descends down into his beard, full of dirt, his circular glasses bend and broken. And Eren doesn’t feel any pity, jumps forward to cover the girl with his jacket, asking the sobbing brunette if everything is fine.

Only then, he, Jean and Levi realize that the girl’s leg is missing. And the wound makes it obvious what happened: It’s been bitten off.

They tie her to a nearby tree. She dies a few minutes later, and Levi has to also behead her. But only after they watch her for a few hours, as Levi insists. To give her a chance, to see whether she would turn up like Erwin – or remain a full monster.

“How was… How was Erwin’s changing process?” Mikasa dares to ask as she sits next to Levi in the grass, watching the girl, trying to charge forward, growling and hissing at them, moving her jaw as if she was already chewing on their flesh.

Levi’s grip on the leash tightens as he has to hold Erwin back from charging at the girl. “He views her as a threat,” he explains to Mikasa as he pulls him back to sit next to him, the male zombie giving off a dissatisfied, elongated growl. The raven-haired man sighs, looking at his undead husband. “It was different,” he finally answers the young woman’s enquiry. “I also had him tied to a tree, just like her now, because I’ve seen people change before and… I knew I wouldn’t be able to kill him, like I did with the others, and… like he asked me to do. I… I didn’t know what to do, so I just sat there, had him die in my arms, only to open his eyes again a few minutes later, and… And then I quickly retreated, watched him from a safe distance, just like we are doing now, but… He didn’t try to attack me. He just watched me too for, I don’t know, for hours maybe.”

Then, as a whole day passed, Erwin tried to get closer to Levi. “But not with that killing intent like you have with other zombies. Like with her,” the man explains, pointing to the freshly turned creature, extending her arms, screeching aggressively as she cannot grasp them. She looks possessed. And the whole group is listening intently to the man’s tale. “Erwin was different from the beginning,” Levi continues, “I kept him tied to that tree for a few months. He tried to bite me a couple of times, but the movements were so slow, I always stopped him, chastised him, and then he stopped that and started listening to my commands, like a… pet.”

After that, Levi took him on a leash and learned many more things about his zombie husband. “He always wants to be close to me – and that’s not very different from the Erwin he once used to be,” the man adds, smiling faintly, caressing Erwin’s cheek while murmuring soothing words to the zombie who’s started to growl at the undead girl again. “He has the need to protect me. You could say he’s like a dog, but he used to be like that when he was still a human, too.”

Levi ends the existence of the zombie girl, bringing Erwin’s growling to a definite stop before he sits down back in the grass.

The group learns some more intimate details then. That Erwin was Levi’s superior in the military and that even though the man was powerful and intimidating, he had a very soft core. “He was total romantic and cuddle-addict,” Levi tells them, carding his fingers through Erwin’s blond bangs. “He still is… Romantic not so much, but he seeks closeness, wants to cuddle.” Just as Levi says this, the zombie leans on Levi, resting its head awkwardly on the man’s shoulder, and Levi pats its thigh. “I think he understand the word cuddle by now,” he says, grinning faintly, sadly, and Mikasa’s chest hurts.

Only a few days after this incident, Levi kills again.

Historia and Ymir are setting up camp when the others are out searching for supplies and firewood. Erwin stays behind with the girls. Suddenly, he begins to growl, releasing sounds full of anger, and the girls get ready to fight approaching zombies – but the two figures appearing in front of them aren’t undead. They are humans.

A third one creeps up on them from behind, and Ymir’s grip on Erwin’s leash tightens as the zombie twirls around to attack the man. She tries to pull him back, but she’s too late. The undead creature charges at the stranger who shoots Erwin in the stomach and then kicks his chest, making the zombie fall onto its back, releasing a wrathful growl. Historia acts upon instinct, throwing herself onto Erwin as she watches the man with short tousled red hair aim his gun at the zombie’s head.

“Don’t shoot him!” she screams. “Don’t shoot him, please!”

The men are confused, exchange deep, dark glances. The red-haired one standing closest to the two friends, the one who shot at Erwin, then grins. It’s an evil grin. He points his gun at Historia, who is keeping Erwin down on the ground with all her strength, as the zombie struggles to stand up again, growling, and Historia tries to calm him down, murmuring things to him. It seems to be working, as Erwin stills. A little at least.

“What the fuck do you want?” Ymir seethes at the man, his two companions coming closer.

“Yeah, what the fuck do we want here, Floch?” one of them picks up in dark amusement. “Tell her, and her beautiful friend.”

Those words make both of the women shudder, their heart rate increasing.

The man’s grin, Floch’s grin, widens, his eyes going over Historia and the zombie, then over Ymir’s stature, his gaze remaining on the leash in her hand, wandering back to the undead creature. “So, the rumours seem only partly to be true,” he states, “didn’t know Levi Ackerman was a freaking woman.”

“ _Two_ women,” the third man creeping closer adds, laughing in a nasty manner.

“Yeah,” Floch picks up, “put down the gun, sweetheart,” he purrs in a sleazy way, “or I will blow your girlfriend’s pretty little head off, then kill you, and your precious zombie. Got it?”

Ymir grits her teeth, but complies, lowering her weapon.

“So, which one of you ladies actually is Levi Ackerman?” Floch asks – a second his head snaps sideways as it shatters in a spray of blood and brain; a bullet to the head. Two more shots are fired, and the man’s companion drop dead onto the ground, and Levi, with the gun still in his hands, runs over to the girls from the spot he was hiding at.

“Are you okay?” he shouts over to them.

“Erwin!” Historia screams, “That guy shot him in the stomach.” Levi falls onto his knees right next to his zombie, staring at the wound.

“He… He will be okay, though, right? I mean… He’s dead! Sort of, right?” Ymir mumbles.

It’s the first time she sees Levi’s hands tremble. “He… He’s been shot before, but… But we need to get the bullet out now and seal the wound, disinfect it so that no shit infects it, we… we need to get it out, now, get the, get the…. The med kit, the—“

“I got it,” Historia declares with determination, rushing over to her backpack, retrieving the kit. Levi reaches for it, but she slaps his hand away, looking the man deep into the eyes – Levi’s terrified. She’s never seen him like that before. “I said I got it.”

Ymir grabs Levi’s shoulder, squeezes it. “She’s got this,” she reassures, offering an encouraging smile as her girlfriend gets to work with her skilled hands. Levi swallows thickly, nods. And… Erwin’s fine.

Even after a few days, during which Levi checks he wound a couple of times, he’s fine. “Thank you,” he says to Historia and she just smiles.

They reach the sea. And when they are on the beach, Levi can’t control Erwin – the zombie just walks straight into the water, no matter how much Levi pulls at the leash and hisses at his pet slash zombie husband to “fucking wait, Erwin!”; the blond cannot be stopped, his dead eyes transfixed on the water, elongated sighs and moans escaping his throat. Until he is fully submerged in the water, having pulled Levi along with him who is still holding on to the leash, and now onto Erwin’s back, the only thing sticking out of the water being the zombie husband’s head – and Levi’s, whose feet cannot reach the ground of the ocean anymore since he is so much smaller.

He clicks his tongue annoyed, looking back at the others who have also waded into the water, unsure whether they need to help Levi in any way. “He’s always been obsessed with the sea,” the man explains, shrugging lightly, both arms wrapped around the now still creature that stares into the distance, somewhat contented. It’s then that everybody relaxes and even begins to laugh.

Then, they all join them in the water, swim a little, forget about the zombie apocalypse for just a few hours, have something near a great day at the beach. Until it’s time to get on and seek shelter for the night.

It takes the whole group to push and pull Erwin out of the water, the zombie letting out displeased growls, and Levi chastises his husband the whole time, using such an amount of swearwords and mixing them together in such glorious ways, Eren and Jean cannot stop laughing.

It almost makes them forget about how dismal their future looks.

Because after two years of travelling together, Sanctuary is nowhere to be found.

“Maybe we should stop looking,” Mikasa says one day as they all sit around a fire, roasting the meet of a deer Levi hunted down with Erwin’s help for the group, another six months added to their time together. “We’ve been searching for this place for years, we must have seen the whole country by now, and the landscape is nice, the rest not so much, though,” she adds something of a joke with a forced smile on her lips.

“And what else do you want to do?!” Eren immediately shoots back, a little annoyed, quite shocked too that the young woman suggests to just give up. He’s even more in for a shock when Levi joins the conversation.

“Settle down,” the man says calmly, staring into the flames, his zombie husband standing behind him like a statue, staring into the distance.

“Settle down?!”

“Yes,” Levi confirms. “Mikasa’s right. You and I, we’ve been looking for Sanctuary for way too long. It’s time to let go.”

“Let go?” Eren roars, jumping up, his eyes wide, glance switching between Mikasa and the zombie keeper. “Are you nuts?!”

“Maybe we can find a village similar to the one we found the wine cellar in,” Levi suggests weakly, “rebuild it. Try to grow crops. Wait for other people to join us.”

“I repeat: Are you crazy?” Eren shoots back exasperated. “Are you giving up on Erwin? On humanity?”

Levi sighs, looking the man in the eyes. “I tried my best to save humanity,” he answers in a serious tone, “but if I have to choose Erwin over humanity, I would always choose my husband. And he needs a safe place to stay. How many more times do you want him to get shot by random people on our way, huh?”

“Levi—“

“No,” the man says, shaking his head, “maybe it’s time you face reality, Eren. Maybe all that talk about Sanctuary is just what it is: talk.”

“Guys…” Historia tries to calm them down, but Eren ignores them, clicking his tongue annoyed.

“I cannot believe that you, out of all people, would be the first one to give up,” he accuses his friend and team leader. “You know what my friends told me a few years ago? That _you_ were just a myth. And yet here you are, with your outstanding zombie that could be the cure for all people, that maybe even has a chance of being turned back into your husband, a human being, in Sanctuary, and you want to give up? What the fuck, Levi?”

The raven-haired man doesn’t react, stares grimly into the fire.

“I think Levi’s right, we should—“ Jean starts, but Eren hisses at him to shut the fuck up.

Ymir sighs, her arm wrapped around her girlfriend.

“Eren…” Mikasa murmurs his name, but the man merely shakes his head, his eyes still locked onto Levi.

“Just one more month,” he suddenly says much calmer, making the other man look at him. “One more month, please,” the green-eyed young man pleads. “And if we don’t find it by then, we will look for a place to stay permanently. Okay?”

A while of silence passes in which both men look at each other, the zombie suddenly giving off a low growl, before it sinks down onto the ground and scrambles forward to push itself against its husband, cuddle with Levi. And the man sighs, ruffling his zombie husband’s hair.

“One more month,” he agrees, and Eren rejoices. “One month – and then we settle down.”

“Deal!”

Just one more week later, the group finds Sanctuary.

“It looks like a former prison,” Eren says as they all lie in the tall grass on the hill, looking at it through binoculars.

“Definitely military or governmental property,” Levi confirms as he takes a look at the two watch towers to either side of a gate, the guards carrying machine guns.

The property is huge. They see barbed wire fences everywhere, keeping the zombies out. Further behind the fences have been replaced by concrete walls reaching up high, shielding the inside from the ugly outside, a few walking corpses leaning against it unmoving.

Levi licks his lips. “You go and check it out, I will stay here with Erwin,” he decides. “I’m not getting any closer to those armed fuckers with him. They will shoot him, I can feel that. I would, if I were them.”

“We’ll tell them and then we come get you,” Eren answers, squeezing the man’s shoulder, who gives him a nod.

“We will also stay behind,” Ymir announces, meaning her and Historia. “If something happens, we can help you from here, shoot the others so you can make a run for it.”

Levi nods, accepting the plan.

And so, Eren, Mikasa and Jean, slowly make their way to the big gate.

“Can you hear what they are saying?” Ymir asks, as the sound of the watchers using some sort of megaphone, talking to their friends, is carried over by the wind.

“No,” Levi mutters, his grip on Erwin’s leash tightening.

Historia’s nervous. Full of hope but also nervous. They all are. She takes a look through her binoculars. “Guys,” she whispers, “they are opening the gate.” And just as that happens, Eren turns around, a big smile stretched across his face, waving at them to come over, as does Jean.

And then the two almost get overrun by a person. Historia can’t say whether it’s a woman or a man. They have long hair, are wearing an old military uniform, with huge goggles pushed into their messy hairstyle – if you can even call it that; and they look somewhat crazy, smiling a bit too eagerly, it’s almost creepy and—

“Hange?!” Levi suddenly gasps, also observing the scene through his device. “Oh my fucking God, Hange!”

Behind this Hange Historia can spot a tall man, taller than Erwin probably, with shaggy blond hair and a moustache, tilting his head to each side, as if looking for something. “Mike!” Levi gasps – and then a hopeful, warm, a cheerful laugh escapes his mouth, as he springs to his feet. “My comrades!” he explains to the two women looking up at him a bit confused. “They are alive, oh my fucking God!”

They have never experienced Levi this excited.

Hange lets out an enthusiastic scream when they spot Levi and come up running to them, fall into Levi’s arms, sobbing. “I thought you were dead!” they exclaim, tears running down their face – and then, Hange’s eyes fixate on Erwin, widening. “Oh, Erwin…” they sob, walking towards the zombie with outstretched arms, completely unafraid of the creature, smiling a sad but at the same time radiant smile. “Oh, Erwin…” they repeat, hugging the undead thing tightly, squeezing its cheeks next, before they plant a kiss onto the cold cheek, making Erwin release a grunt. But otherwise he remains calm and still. “I always knew the rumours were true,” they say to the thing before turning to Ymir and Historia to introduce themselves.

Mike hugs Levi tightly, the embrace lasting for almost a minute. And when the man walks up to Erwin, he also cannot suppress tears, hugging what was once his best friend even longer, as Levi explains calmly to the girls, Hange’s hand resting on his shoulder, squeezing it encouragingly.

Then, they join Eren, Jean, Mikasa and Armin. And together, they walk through the gate and into the heart of Sanctuary.

It turns out that the huge pocket of land used to be a secret government facility with a huge lab and an alibi village in close proximity, the whole area fenced, a lot of bunkers scattered everywhere. For the first time in years the group of friends experiences electricity. Thanks to the solar plants the facility partly still is functioning, as if the war and the apocalypse hadn’t taken place. A secluded and independent paradise.

As they walk through it, they see fields, crops, they even have cows, chickens and other livestock, and people working, harvesting corn, feeding the animals, a dog runs up to them to greet them with its wagging tail, growling at Erwin, who earns a lot of curious and partly shocked looks. But nobody says something. Maybe that is due to Hange and Mike, part of Sanctuary’s security, guiding and guarding the group.

Albeit the safety, and people actually knowing his name, the rumours about the gloomy man and his pet zombie having reached many, Levi keeps Erwin on a tight leash, their bodies actually brushing against one another as they walk into the main building.

Mike and Hange take them to the governor of Sanctuary, an older, bald man, with a distinguished moustache, and Levi’s eyes widen.

“Pixis!” he stammers, and the man laughs. It’s a heart-warming, comfortable laugh, as he stands up and walks towards Levi with his hands outstretched.

“Ackerman!” he exclaims, embracing the short man, patting him on the back. “It’s good to have you back.”

“What are you… What are you doing here?”

“I run this place now,” Pixis answers, smiling, his eyes resting on Erwin. “So, this is the abnormal zombie I heard so much about,” he says, sighing, grasping Erwin’s shoulder, squeezing it lightly, the creature releasing a calm sound, making Pixis smiles again. “Ah, Smith. It’s good to have you back too,” he says to the zombie.

Pixis was a high-ranked military officer, one of the best, as Levi says, as the group of friends is led to the main dining hall of the facility – and they eat like pigs when they are served a normal meal, one they hadn’t had for years. Fresh, seasoned meat with boiled potatoes and a crunchy salad. Levi feeds Erwin a fresh piece of cooked meat and smiles, as he watches his husband eat.

“What happened to your face?” Hange asks as they observe the raven-haired interact with his undead husband.

“The helicopter crash.”

“Oh… It looks good though, the scar.”

“Thanks, I guess,” Levi scoffs, smirking.

“What about Petra, Olou and… the others?” Mike enquires carefully.

“Dead and buried.”

“Fuck…”

“Yeah…”

Levi tells them about how he met Eren and the others, and his comrades and old friends seem to get along with his new companions. And then, the moment of truth approaches.

“Levi,” Pixis calls his name as he walks over to their table, smiling. “I hope you and your friends enjoyed your meal. Mike and Hange will take you to your new home in just a minute. But we have pressing matters to discuss first,” he explains, looking at Erwin.

“She’s good,” Mike assures Levi after the conversation with Pixis, when they all wait for Erwin to be picked up and taken into the laboratory where scientists have been working on finding a cure nonstop since the outbreak of the virus; Pixis hopes Erwin’s body will help them to figure out a little more, stating that his staff was already close to finding a cure.

“She’s his girlfriend, too,” Hange chirps in, making Levi laugh, despite the man being obviously nervous. Eren can see Levi biting his lip, and the man doesn’t do it very often.

“So it only took the apocalypse for you to finally find a partner, huh?” the raven-haired man teases Mike, and the other man laughs sheepishly.

“Nanaba is the woman of my dreams, and a top scientist at that,” he explains. And just a few minutes later the fair-haired lady with bright eyes and an equally bright smile walks in.

Mikasa’s heart nearly breaks as she watches Levi struggle when they want to sedate Erwin to put him onto the rollaway bed the nurses have brought in, to take him to the lab, run some tests, take his blood and other bodily fluids, study him. The man being already on edge because they didn’t want to let him come with Erwin, explaining that the lab was off limits for non-medical staff and civilians as well as military personnel. At one point Armin was almost sure Levi would plunge his fist into Nanaba’s face, who was and is very compassionate, but who also told Levi she wouldn’t be altering the rules for him because the lab needs to stay safe and sterile and he has to let them do their job, not interrupt them. But he didn’t. Mike and Hange managed to calm him down, talk some sense into him.

“Please, give him some time,” Jean mumbles to Nanaba and the other people anyway, and the fair-haired woman nods, smiling warmly.

Levi’s hands tremble lightly as he makes Erwin lie down on the mobile bed himself, brushing his fingers and knuckles over his husband’s dead, cold face, murmuring hushed words of encouragement and devotion to him. “I love you, Erwin,” he whispers, kissing the zombie’s forehead while carding his fingers through his hair. “You hear me? I love you. And you’d better come back to me. I don’t care if you stay a zombie, you hear me? I’ll be right here, waiting for you. Just come back to me.”

Ymir has to swallow a lump in her throat as she hears those words, and how shakily Levi’s voice is as he utters them. She clasps Historia’s hand and the woman squeezes back. Eren takes Mikasa’s hand, and Jean puts his arm around Armin. They all are pained too, watching Erwin being given an injection and restrained to the bed, rolled off. But not before Levi Ackerman can threaten Mike’s girlfriend and her co-workers.

“You hurt him, and I’ll gut you,” he growls. “You understand?”

Nanaba smiles. “We won’t hurt him, Levi.”

But the man is not so sure about that.

He can’t calm down, can’t even enjoy their new surroundings, their big, military tent with folding cods, fresh sheets. He can’t sleep. Whenever one of the friends wakes up to take a leak or a sip of water, they see him sitting on his bed or walking around, walking outside.

Levi has dark circles under his eyes the next day, when Hange and Mike show them all of Sanctuary and explain how everything works, that everybody plays a part, has a job, helps out. The group of friend gets assigned to work security with them, as they all have combat experience, and they are more than willing to help out this way, guard the place, uphold the safety. Only Levi seems distant, can’t smile, can’t focus.

Mike and Hange get him drunk on self-made schnapps, and they share embarrassing stories about the raven-haired man – like that one time when he was drunk and broke the door down to the wrong apartment, assuming his keys just weren’t working, giving an old grandma the scare of his life. Because he wasn’t only drunk, he was also half-naked, preparing to jump Erwin in their bed.

They all laugh, even Levi does, repaying the favour and sharing embarrassing stories about his old friends. It’s a nice evening. But in the end, Levi’s looking all gloomy.

It doesn’t change the next day – because Erwin is still not back with him, and everybody around Levi grows nervous too.

Eren watches from a distance as Levi screams at Pixis, even shoves the man, who remains calm the whole time, even signalling to some of his men to stay back as they come closer to interfere.

“Fucking cunts!” Levi swears, kicking the wall as they have breakfast outside in the sun on a terrace, sitting on proper chairs at proper tables; one could think they were in some sort of outside cafeteria. “Fucking, stupid, shitty, pissheads!”

“Levi,” Hange speaks to him with a calm voice, but they don’t reach him.

“Shut the fuck up!” he seethes at them. “Why the fuck is he not back yet? How fucking long can it take to fucking take some blood samples, huh?”

“Levi,” Mike says his name, patting the empty chair next to him, trying to get the man to sit down, but Levi just tuts. Mike sighs. “They aren’t only taking blood samples,” he explains as calmly and warmly as possible. “The tests they do are way more complicated.”

“Complicated my fucking ass!”

Eren is in pain, watching his friend and team leader becoming a shadow of himself. He yells at everyone. He sees Pixis every day, calling him abhorrent names, gets into fights with Mike, saying he should tell that stupid girlfriend’s of his to finally release his husband and that he doesn’t give a shit about a cure anymore.

“Levi, they need some more time,” Mike tries to reason with him. “Erwin is fine, they just need to watch him some more do some more test.”

“What tests?!”

“Hell, I don’t fucking know! Do I look like a scientist to you?!”

“No, so fucking get me that bitch of a scientist to fucking explain to me what the fucking matter is!”

“Oi, enough!” Hange breaks them up.

And Nanaba does come to visit, does try to calm Levi down, reassures him that Erwin is being taken care of, but that she cannot release him yet because they are trying running some long term tests and that she will see what she can do about letting Levi come and see him, even if it means bending the rules a little after all. He demands for her to explain what kind of tests they are doing, and Nanaba tries. But Levi doesn’t understand. None of the friends do.

And after three more days, nothing has changed, and Levi looks like a wreck. Even his new hairstyle, or rather his old one, does nothing to make him look better; he has an undercut now, the black top hair parted to the right side of his head. Hange cut it for him, wanted to cheer him up a bit, but it doesn’t help. At all.

“He’s losing it,” Mikasa says quietly as the group of friends watch the man in question pace up and down and kicking the wall from a distance.

“We need to do something,” Eren agrees. But he has no idea what. Even Armin is out of ideas.

The circles under Levi’s eye become darker. He’s snappy. He doesn’t sleep at all. And his friends and comrades are worried.

Once again, they are having breakfast outside. Real eggs with real bread. Eren can’t get enough, but when he looks over to Levi, who just stares at his plate, he almost loses her appetite.

“You need to eat,” he tells him.

“Fuck you,” is all that he gets as a response. He frowns, but Mikasa touches his hand, and shakes her head, signalling for him to just take the insult and not respond. The man sighs, and gives his girlfriend a weak smile. Then, in his field of vision, he sees the door of the building being opened and a tall man walking towards them. He’s around Erwin’s height, with shiny blond hair, freshly trimmed, styled in an undercut, the blue eyes piercing, the build athletic, and the closer he comes, the faster Eren’s heart beats; until he finally understands why.

Because this man isn’t only the same height as Erwin – it IS Erwin.

“L-Levi…” Eren mumbles pointing at the man, the other friends already following his lead, their mouths dropping open. “L-look!” he gasps, and Levi sighs while still frowning, but he lifts his head – and all eyes are suddenly on him, as he takes a look at his zombie husband. Who isn’t a zombie anymore.

Levi doesn’t utter a word. He doesn’t even stir, gaping at his husband soundlessly, as if he was a Fata Morgana.

“Levi…” the man mumbles as he is close enough, standing right next to their table, smiling at his husband – and it’s a breath-taking, a charismatic smile, and Erwin’s eyes are full of life, as blue as the sea the man loves so much, his voice low and manly, but warm and soft at the same time.

Suddenly, the group of friends, letting their gazes wander between Erwin and his husband, realises the change taking place on Levi’s face, his lips quivering while his mouth twists and contorts into a woeful grimace, tears emerging in his eyes, running down his cheeks, his whole face as a pitiful sob breaks out of the usually stoic man’s throat, and he begins to cry uncontrollable, a sudden gust of power making him jump up, his plate clattering onto the ground as he throws himself into Erwin’s big, strong arms, pressing his face against the man’s chest.

Levi’s fingers dig into Erwin’s back, into the black shirt covering his upper body, and his knees give out. The group watches Erwin wrap his arms tightly around his husband, sinking down to the ground with him, holding him as Levi continues to cry with an open mouth, sobbing and whimpering, his tears and saliva soaking into Erwin’s garment as the tall man strokes his back, breathing kisses onto his shorter husband’s head.

“E-E-Erwin…” Levi sobs, taking his husband’s face into both of his hands, looking him deeply in the eyes. “E-Erwin…”

It’s that moment, Eren sees Ymir and Jean cry for the first time too, as tears are also rolling down his cheek as they all watch the lovers reunite, the proof of Erwin being the missing piece to a cure, and the proof of Levi’s and Erwin’s bond being special.

The blond man smiles at Levi, wipes his husband’s tears away with his big thumbs, his own blue eyes moist. “Levi…” he repeats his name – and they finally kiss. Over and over again. Desperate. Full of longing. Smiling. Sobbing. Smiling some more. “Levi…” Erwin murmurs again, looking his love deep in the eyes, “thank you…”

Years later, Eren and Mikasa’s kids beg their parents to tell them story of how their uncle Levi Ackerman and his pet zombie husband Erwin Smith saved humanity for the hundredth time. And Eren and Mikasa gladly oblige. Every time.

**END**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone, I wanted to thank all of you for commenting on this fic. I hope all of you had as much fun reading this as I had writing it. Zombie Erwin forever has a special place in my heart and so does his keeper/husband Levi <3

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you guys so much for all the incredible feedback on my firts Bottom Erwin Week fic! You made me smile so much <3 YOU ARE AMAZING!
> 
> I hope you also enjoyed the start of this very different tale. If you did, it would be awesome of you to leave a comment. As I said before, comments are the only reward/pay (whatever you wanna call it) I receive in return for pouring so much of my time, sweat, tears and love into those fics. 
> 
> Chapter 2 will be up tomorrow!


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